internment-camp

Noun

(plural internment camps)

(archaic) A governmental euphemism for a concentration camp, especially a non-Nazi one from before or during WWII; a detention center; a relocation camp.

Historical references describe the camps as internment camps, although others favor the name relocation camps. Others, more critical of this action, refer to them as detention camps or concentration camps.

Usage notes

This term often appears in texts translated from German, where Internierungslager means any non-Nazi concentration camp, while Konzentrationslager is used exclusively for Nazi concentration camps.